Can’t we level up the A-level playing field?

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Some children love assessment and modules, others thrive on one-off exams. We need a system that helps both

Like a teenage recasting of the Monty Python Four Yorkshiremen sketch, my sons are arguing over who has the toughest life. Son No 1, child of new Labour: “But I’ve had it hard. Exams every summer for FOUR years.” Son No 2, Spawn of Gove: “That’s nothing. You could retake them. Two years’ work — then just one bad day and I’m stuffed.”

It seems that we will never agree on the best way to test our young people. Continual assessment versus sink-or-swim exams — which is fairer? Which promotes deep thinking and excellence? Which will create world-beating workers for a modern